Los Arcos Mall
Former enclosed shopping mall in Scottsdale, Arizona, that operated from 1969 to 1999 and was later redeveloped as the SkySong innovation complex.
Last updated October 14, 2026
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Overview
Los Arcos Mall was an enclosed regional shopping mall at the southeast corner of Scottsdale Road and McDowell Road in Scottsdale, Arizona. It opened in November 1969 as the first enclosed mall developed by Phoenix-based Westcor Partners, a company associated with developers Russ Lyon Jr. and John L. Holmes. The project occupied approximately 41.9 acres and represented a major early retail investment in the Scottsdale market. The mall used a Spanish architectural theme, reflected in its name, which means “the arches” in Spanish. Its interior was designed by the Los Angeles architectural firm Burke, Kober, Nicolais and Archuleta. Notable design elements included murals of Native Americans by Mexican artist José María Servín and a gazebo manufactured in Mexico City. The cross-shaped, air-conditioned mall was anchored by a three-story Broadway Southwest department store and a large Sears store with an attached automotive center. A movie theater, inline retailers, service businesses, bank facilities and automotive outparcels complemented the department stores. Los Arcos initially benefited from Scottsdale’s growth and from its position as one of the region’s principal enclosed retail destinations. Its competitive position weakened after Fiesta Mall opened in Mesa in 1979 with several major department-store anchors, including the same chains represented at Los Arcos. During the 1980s and 1990s, Scottsdale Fashion Square, located roughly three miles north, expanded and increasingly became Scottsdale’s dominant regional shopping center. Population growth also moved northward, while Papago Park, the Salt River and the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community constrained the growth of Los Arcos’s immediate trade area. Westcor’s original principals sold the mall in 1988 to Equity Properties and Development Company, associated with investor Sam Zell. The new ownership undertook a major renovation beginning in 1989, adding tile floors, skylights, updated decoration, fire sprinklers, asbestos removal and a 280-seat enclosed food court. The improvements were intended to reposition Los Arcos as a modern “mall of the ’90s,” but they did not reverse its structural decline. The Broadway was acquired by Federated Department Stores in 1995 and was subsequently converted to the Macy’s brand at many locations. The Los Arcos store closed that year, leaving Sears as the last major anchor. Equity attempted to reposition the property, including consideration of a power-center format, but the mall continued to lose tenants. The property was sold in late 1996 to the Phoenix-based Ellman Companies for approximately $14 million, excluding the Sears parcel. Sears announced that it would move to Scottsdale Fashion Square and closed its Los Arcos location in February 1999. Co-tenancy provisions allowed many remaining retailers to leave, and the mall’s retail operation effectively ended in 1999. After closure, Los Arcos became one of Scottsdale’s most politically contentious redevelopment sites. Ellman proposed a mixed-use project and later advanced a plan involving a new arena for the Phoenix Coyotes hockey team. The arena proposal generated intense debate over neighborhood impacts, public subsidies and the use of tax revenues. Although Scottsdale and voters approved mechanisms intended to support the project, disputes over financing, timing, ownership and the proposed public contribution delayed the development. Demolition began in 2000, but the arena plan ultimately failed when Ellman reached an agreement with Glendale in 2001 to develop a new arena and entertainment district near the Loop 101 freeway. A subsequent proposal for Los Arcos Town Center, anchored by Walmart, Sam’s Club and Lowe’s, also encountered strong neighborhood opposition and disagreement over public assistance. Ellman abandoned the proposal shortly before a planned referendum in 2004. Later that year, the Ellman Companies, the city of Scottsdale and the Arizona State University Foundation agreed to transfer the site for development as a technology and innovation center. The former mall site was redeveloped as SkySong, now associated with the ASU Scottsdale Innovation Center. The complex combines offices, research and innovation facilities, retail and restaurants, housing and a hotel. Its early office buildings opened in 2008, followed by additional phases in the 2010s. The redevelopment replaced Los Arcos’s former retail identity with a technology-oriented mixed-use district and became the site’s long-term successor.
History
Los Arcos Mall was built at the southeast corner of Scottsdale and McDowell roads on a 41.9-acre site. Construction began in October 1968, and the mall opened formally on November 21, 1969. Sears and Broadway Southwest opened earlier, on October 20. The development cost approximately $6 million excluding the department stores. Westcor Partners, led by Russ Lyon Jr. and John L. Holmes, developed the property after earlier work on Phoenix-area open-air retail. The mall’s Spanish motif distinguished it from competing centers. Burke, Kober, Nicolais and Archuleta designed the interior, while Mexican artist José María Servín created murals and a gazebo was produced in Mexico City. The facility had a cross-shaped enclosed layout, air conditioning, a movie theater, inline retailers and outparcels. Sears occupied a large two-story building with a basement and a separate automotive center; Broadway Southwest occupied a three-story anchor designed by Charles Luckman. Los Arcos began losing momentum in 1979, when Mesa’s large Fiesta Mall opened with several department-store anchors. The mall’s decline accelerated during the 1980s and 1990s as Scottsdale Fashion Square expanded and attracted retailers and shoppers. Northward population growth favored Fashion Square, while physical and geographic barriers limited expansion around the Los Arcos trade area. In 1988, Lyon and Holmes sold the mall to Equity Properties and Development Company of Chicago, controlled by Sam Zell. Equity launched a major modernization project in 1989, adding skylights, tile floors, new decorations, fire sprinklers, asbestos abatement and a 280-seat enclosed food court. Despite this investment, Los Arcos remained vulnerable to anchor-store decisions and tenant co-tenancy clauses. The Broadway’s closure in 1995 left the mall without one of its principal draws. Equity explored financial assistance and alternative formats, including a power center, but the property continued to deteriorate. Ellman Companies acquired the mall and former Broadway property in late 1996 for approximately $14 million, while Sears remained separately operating. Ellman first proposed a mixed-use redevelopment with a movie theater, but Sears’s decision to relocate to Scottsdale Fashion Square changed the project from renovation to full redevelopment. The most prominent redevelopment plan involved a new Phoenix Coyotes hockey arena. Proposals included a $140 million arena and, in a later version, a larger approximately $600 million mixed-use and retail project. The plans required public approvals and tax-related support and became highly divisive. Supporters emphasized redevelopment and economic activity; opponents objected to neighborhood impacts and the proposed public subsidy. Although voters approved mechanisms intended to establish a stadium district and support the project, disputes over financing and scheduling persisted. The Coyotes ownership issue further complicated the plan. Steve Ellman eventually acquired the team, but continued disagreements with Scottsdale and delays in the arena schedule undermined the project. Demolition began in 2000, and the remaining mall structure was progressively removed. In April 2001, Ellman announced a separate Glendale agreement for a new arena and entertainment district, ending the practical prospects for the Los Arcos arena proposal. Ellman then proposed Los Arcos Town Center, a retail project with Walmart, Sam’s Club and Lowe’s as potential anchors. Scottsdale approved a related arrangement in 2003, but neighborhood opponents organized against the proposal and challenged the public subsidy. As the referendum approached in 2004, Ellman abandoned the project. The long-disputed property found a different future through an agreement among Ellman Companies, Scottsdale and the ASU Foundation. The land was sold for approximately $41.5 million for conversion into a technology and innovation center. A design featuring shade sails and a Barcelona-inspired pedestrian setting was selected and later named SkySong. The first office buildings opened in 2008. Subsequent office, residential, hospitality and restaurant components transformed the former mall into a mixed-use innovation district associated with Arizona State University.
- 2019
SkySong 5 completed
[1]The fifth office building was completed as demand for the successor complex continued.
- 2015
SkySong 3 completed
[1]The third office building expanded the technology-oriented mixed-use complex.
- 2008
First SkySong office buildings open
[1]The first two office buildings of the successor development opened on the former mall site.
- 2004
SkySong redevelopment agreement
[1]The former mall property was committed to an ASU-linked technology and innovation center.
- 2001
Arena plan relocates to Glendale
[1]The proposed Coyotes arena moved to a Glendale site, later associated with the Westgate development.
- 1999
Retail operation ends
[1]Sears closed on February 13, followed by widespread tenant departures and the end of the mall’s operating era.
- 1996
Ellman Companies acquires the property
[1]Ellman Companies purchased the mall and former Broadway property, excluding Sears.
- 1995
The Broadway closes
[1]The Broadway anchor shut down after its parent company was acquired by Federated Department Stores.
- 1989
Major modernization begins
[1]The mall underwent extensive interior and infrastructure improvements, including a new enclosed food court.
- 1988
Ownership changes to Equity Properties
[1]Westcor’s principals sold Los Arcos to Equity Properties and Development Company.
Products and positioning
A Spanish-themed regional enclosed mall serving Scottsdale and the surrounding Phoenix metropolitan area before competition and demographic shifts weakened its market position.
Enclosed regional shopping mall · 1969
Los Arcos Mall
Los Arcos was a cross-shaped, air-conditioned enclosed mall offering department stores, specialty retail, dining, entertainment and services. Its Spanish-themed architecture, murals, Mexican-made gazebo and central circulation design gave it a distinctive identity in the Phoenix metropolitan retail market. The property included major Sears and Broadway Southwest anchors, a movie theater, a later enclosed food court and automotive-service outparcels. It operated from 1969 until the retail complex’s decline and closure in 1999.
Technology and innovation mixed-use complex · 2008
SkySong
SkySong is the successor development on the former Los Arcos property rather than a product line of the mall itself. Associated with Arizona State University, it combines office buildings, university facilities, business-incubator space, residential units, a hotel, restaurants and retail. Its design uses shade structures and a pedestrian-oriented concept influenced by Barcelona’s La Rambla. The first office buildings opened in 2008, with later phases expanding the complex.
Brand decisions
2004
Convert the site into an innovation centerStrategyBackground
Repeated retail and arena proposals had failed, while Arizona State University and civic authorities sought a technology-oriented use for the property.
Action taken
Ellman Companies, Scottsdale and the ASU Foundation arranged a land transfer for the development later named SkySong.
Aftermath
The former mall site became a mixed-use office, innovation, residential and hospitality complex, with its first office buildings opening in 2008.
Reported land sale price. 41.5 million US dollars (2004)
2002
Propose Los Arcos Town CenterStrategyBackground
After the hockey arena plan failed, the property owner sought a conventional retail redevelopment.
Action taken
Ellman proposed a center anchored by Walmart, Sam’s Club and Lowe’s.
Aftermath
The plan encountered neighborhood opposition, legal and political challenges and was withdrawn in 2004.
1998
Pursue a hockey arena redevelopmentStrategyBackground
The departure of major anchors made a conventional mall renovation increasingly impractical, while the Phoenix Coyotes sought a venue better suited to hockey.
Action taken
Ellman Companies proposed a mixed-use redevelopment centered on a new Coyotes arena and retail components.
Aftermath
Political disputes, financing problems and schedule delays led to the proposal’s abandonment and relocation of the arena concept to Glendale.
1989
Reposition the mall through a major renovationStrategyBackground
Ownership faced growing competition from newer regional shopping centers and sought to modernize Los Arcos for the next decade.
Action taken
Equity Properties renovated the interior, added skylights and tile floors, built an enclosed food court, installed sprinklers and removed asbestos.
Aftermath
The improvements did not overcome the mall’s worsening competitive and demographic position.
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